Ragnaruk Zone
by roktavor
Summary: A series of one-shots about Rantaro's daily life with the people he knows, taking place at various points in canon. Ch6: "See, he's seen the outside of Valt's house often enough, and he's waved to Valt's mom in passing – but he's never actually gone inside of Valt's house, or spoken to Valt's mom."
1. Guilty by Association

Boss is 100% my favorite BeyBurst character, and I wanted to write up some, "missing" and extra moments centering on him, because he deserves SO MUCH

Anyway, these will mostly be short and sweet, and there will also definitely be appearances from other BeyBurst characters. Because everyone is so good in this show, like wow.

(Also: I know in the dub he's called Honcho, but I'll stick with Boss as his nickname unless I'm doing something extra-dub-relevant. I hope that's okay!)

This first one takes place somewhere earlier in canon.

Enjoy!

* * *

 **Guilty by Association**

Try as he might, Rantaro's never been that great in school. Granted, he's also not the worst in class by far – but all things considered, he could be getting much better grades. Still, he pays attention, turns his homework in on time, and follows… _most_ of the rules. He may not be the most model of model students, but his teachers appreciate the effort he puts in, and so does his father, and that's enough.

Lately, though, there's something that's been threatening to lower his unfortunately meager test scores further.

"Boss!"

…And that something is currently just outside the window, a mere three and a half minutes before class is due to start.

It's a small blessing that his teacher hasn't arrived yet.

"Boss? This's your classroom, right?!"

Man, does that kid have a set of pipes.

Cheeks pink, Rantaro slouches further over his open textbook, trying to ignore the giggles and whispers of his classmates as well as the ruckus from outside. The last thing he needs right now is Valt getting him in more trouble with their principal – it's already happened on _three_ separate occasions – because although the man is surprisingly lenient, Rantaro has none of Valt's accidental charm to keep himself out of detention.

"BOSS!"

He's grinding his lollipop stick between his teeth now, very much aware that everyone is staring at him (even the ones that refuse to call him by the nickname, which is kind of annoying). Maybe, if he sits real still and quiet, Valt will go scream into someone else's classroom window.

"BOOOOSS!"

Or not.

Why, oh why did he have to befriend the most persistent kid in the school?

"IT'S AN EMERGENCY!"

The legs of Rantaro's chair scrape obnoxiously against the tiled floor as he stands, padding to the very back of the classroom to stick his head out the window.

" _What_?!"

"Oh! So _that's_ your classroom!" Valt says, unfazed as ever. He's been waving both arms as though that would somehow alert Rantaro to his presence faster, but now he drops them and grins ruefully. "It's kind of hard to tell from the outside."

"What are you doing out there?" Rantaro snaps, standing on tiptoe and craning his neck. His class is on the first floor, fortunately – unfortunately, Valt is currently standing about two rooms to the left, shouting at various windows.

Valt trots over before answering, peering up eagerly at Rantaro and bouncing on his feet, schoolbag still strapped across his body. "I'm stuck!"

One dark eyebrow raises as Rantaro's head tilts. "Stuck?"

Valt merely nods. "Stuck," he confirms, "I can't get in, and I'm gonna be late for class again. I need your help!"

"With what?" Rantaro asks.

Always one to somehow get two or three steps ahead in a conversation without actually speaking, Valt simply latches onto the windowsill in response.

Rantaro squawks and nearly loses his lollipop with the action. " _No!_ "

"Aw, c'mon, Boss!" Valt wiggles from where he's letting himself dangle. Ground floor the classroom might be, but it's still far enough off the ground that there's no way he's getting in without some kind of assistance.

"You're gonna get us both in trouble!" Rantaro hisses, glaring down at his friend as he questions a lot of his recent life choices. He was doing just fine until this kid came along – so he's going to leave him hang there, and go back to his schoolwork, and ace today's quiz.

To his credit, Valt makes a valiant attempt at pulling himself up before he sighs dramatically and stands back on the grass. "You gotta help!"

He's not going to help."Get someone else!" Shoving away from the window, Rantaro crosses his arms with a frown.

"I tried!" Valt's voice is a pathetic whine, and he reaches for the windowsill yet again. "I couldn't find my classroom where Shu is, and Daina pretended he couldn't hear me!"

Incredulous, Rantaro steps forward and leans out the window once more. "How did you find _my_ class, but not your own?!"

Rather than respond, Valt tries the chin up tactic yet again, grunting with the effort. "Please, Boss!"

"…You really are something else."

He reaches for Valt's hands, then, and his friend's eyes light up instantaneously.

"Thank you!"

"Yeah, yeah…" Rantaro grumbles, tugging on wrists attached to hands which are in turn far too attached to the window ledge. "Let go, will ya? I can't help if you're hanging on like that."

"Oh, right, sorry!" All at once, Valt lets go –

– And nearly drags Rantaro out the window after him with the shift in weight distribution.

"VALT!"

"Sorry!"

It's surprisingly smooth going after that: Rantaro pulls on his arms, then his shoulders as Valt's shoes scrabble for purchase on the side of the building to help push him up into the room. Curling an arm around Valt's back to ease him the rest of the way through the window is the end of it, and before Rantaro knows it, he's glaring down at a slightly-exerted-but-not-really-any-worse-for-wear Valt in the back of his classroom. The other kids are still staring, of course, with a few bouts of scattered laughter. Valt's been garnering a reputation that puts Rantaro's to shame, and this isn't helping either of them.

Hands resting beneath his waistband, Rantaro blocks out the other students and fixes Valt with A Look.

"Thank you!" Valt's too busy gushing to be bothered, of course. "Thank you, thank you!"

"Yeah – okay – you're _welcome_."

"You're the best, Boss!"

His cheeks heat up a little at the praise, and Valt is laughing – so he gets behind him and shoves his friend firmly in the direction of the door.

"Seriously, thanks!" Valt rambles, something about almost forgetting breakfast and pushing on doors marked 'pull'.

"I got it!" Rantaro says, not really listening to anything beyond the umpteenth 'thank you'. "Just get going before my teacher – "

"Just what is going on in here?"

"…Gets…here…."

x

Waiting outside the principal's office a few minutes later, Rantaro balances his textbook on his knees to study, doing his best to ignore the very apologetic academic saboteur next to him.

* * *

Thanks for reading!

I have a few ideas for this, but updates might be a little sporadic anyway. I'll do my best to keep 'em coming though!


	2. Losers

This one takes place after the events of episode 24 - the one with Rantaro vs. Valt and Hoji vs. Wakiya.  
I have a lot of feelings...

* * *

 **Losers**

Head sufficiently in the clouds after a long and mildly disappointing day, Rantaro doesn't notice that he's headed for the beystadium in the park until he nearly trips over it. He stares down and takes a step back so he isn't in danger of toppling forward. Busy wondering why he didn't trip over the few steps leading up to it, he doesn't realize he's not alone until he looks up.

"Oh."

Hoji lifts his head and looks his way from the other side of the beydish. Horusood is in his hand, like maybe he'd been thinking of using it, but he doesn't have his launcher out.

"Are you using this?" Rantaro asks, echoing the question he had asked only yesterday.

Hoji smiles. It's a little bit sad looking, Rantaro thinks, but he knows how that feels. Today has kind of been a let-down for both of them, after all.

Half a moment later, and the two of them are sitting together on a park bench a little ways away.

"I was thinking about getting in some practice," Hoji explains. He's still holding Horusood, and he runs his thumb over the bey and turns it over and over between his fingers. "But…."

"Well. Now that your battle with Wakiya is over, you might as well just train with him again, right? In his fancy personal training room." Rantaro stretches until his back pops, then rests his elbows on the back of the bench. His knees are splayed wide, but Hoji doesn't seem to mind him taking up most of the space.

"Yeah…" That tiny smile is back on his face, but this time it looks peaceful. "Even though I lost quickly, he still considers me to be a worthy opponent. I'm glad."

Rantaro scoffs, but only because he knows Hoji won't take offense. "It's the same with me and Valt," he admits.

"At least you put up more of a fight than I did," Hoji says, finally tucking his bey back into his pocket. "Horusood didn't even touch the stadium before Wyvern burst it."

"Hey, hey!" Rantaro protests, sitting forward and turning a little so he can look Hoji in the eyes, "your strategy was perfectly sound! And besides, I only got a point because Valt was stupid. He crushed me in the end."

Hoji fixes him with a strange look that seems to be one part grateful and two parts amused. "Guess we're both losers, then," he says, but there isn't any real sadness in his voice anymore.

"Guess so!" Rantaro sags back into his previous position on the bench and stares up at the clouds. "I really thought I had him this time, though."

"Me, too."

The conversation lapses, then.

Rantaro wonders what Hoji is thinking about, and if it's anything like the thoughts that have been swirling around in his own head all day since his battle. He'd tried _so hard_ , and he really thought he was ready, but then….

"Argh!" he growls, pushing to his feet and stuffing his hands in his pockets.

"Boss?" Hoji questions, looking at him with a small, concerned frown.

"I can't stop thinking about losing!" Rantaro explains, rooting around in his left pocket, digging past lollipop wrappers and manga volumes and his hair comb. "It's depressing!"

Hoji is still watching him with that little frown, but now there's a confused furrow to his brow.

Finally finding what he's looking for, Rantaro pulls his wallet from the depths of his pocket, careful not to dislodge any other debris. "Aha!" He grins, accomplished, and turns to Hoji. "Want some ice cream?"

The worried downturn of Hoji's mouth becomes an amused upturn. "Okay. Yeah."

There's an ice cream shop not too far from the park that doesn't take them too long to walk to, and Rantaro swats Hoji's hands away when he tries to pay for his own.

"Nuh-uh! I invited you," he insists, pushing Hoji's money back towards him, "I'm buying."

Hoji's grin is over-indulgent this time, and looks too much like the one he uses when humoring Wakiya. (Rantaro refuses to believe he's _that_ difficult to handle.)

"If you're sure…"

Hoji is still trying to inch closer to the counter to drop his payment, so Rantaro elbows him out of the way and physically blocks him. "Yep!" he says, "I just got my allowance, so it's fine."

They get their orders and head back to their bench, eating as they go. The lollipop in Rantaro's mouth is hastily crunched between his teeth, and he tosses the stick into a nearby trashcan, hanging onto his strawberry cone with his other hand.

"How do you eat chocolate on chocolate like that?" Rantaro asks once they're sitting down again, eyeing Hoji's dish of chocolate ice cream covered in hot fudge. "Isn't that too much chocolate?"

"I like chocolate," Hoji explains with a shrug, good natured as always.

"No kidding…."

Most of their attention is taken up by finishing their ice cream before it melts, but by the time Rantaro is biting into his cone, Hoji has something to say again.

"I guess all we can do now is try and improve." He's staring almost morosely into the last melted bits of his double chocolate ice cream as he swirls them around with the plastic spoon. He looks pretty deep in thought, and not necessarily about anything overly happy.

Ah well. The ice cream was a good distraction for a little while, anyway.

Rantaro swaps the remains of his cone into his left hand so he can deliver a friendly slap to Hoji's back with his right, trying to boost his morale. "We'll get 'em next time!" he vows, because he isn't about to let the mood slip back into melancholy so easily.

Hoji doesn't even flinch under the force of Rantaro's enthusiastic pat, and he's got that genuinely happy smile on his face again. It's small and pleasant, especially in the light of the setting sun. "Next time," he promises.

"In the meantime," Rantaro adds, "we'll do all we can to cheer on our friends!" He stuffs the rest of his ice cream cone into his mouth all at once, and then promptly starts unwrapping another lollipop.

That little grin on Hoji's face grows as he agrees. "We're good at that, after all."

* * *

...This fic continues to be super self-indulgent. I love these two and the way they bonded over similar experiences! Also, they both deserve something nice because they did their best and I'm proud of them,

Thanks for reading!


	3. The Tree Incident

So, the subs for episode 37 came out, and well...that tree scene inspired me all over again. I maybe have a problem.

Enjoy!

* * *

 **The Tree Incident**

The first order of business, he decides, is to get the balloon out of the tree. Avoiding popping it is going to be difficult enough without having to help Wakiya down at the same time, so getting the balloon out of the way is a perfect starting point.

"Hey, Wakiya?" Rantaro says, prying away at Wakiya's tightly fisted fingers still wrapped around the balloon's string.

There's no response from the other boy, who remains rigid and trembling; at least he's stopped shouting and squirming, so they shouldn't fall out of the tree (key word: shouldn't).

"Earth to Wakiya!" Rantaro snaps his fingers in front of Wakiya's widened eyes, and gets a blink and a glance in return. "Let go of the balloon."

"W-why should I?"

"Because, I'm going to take it back to the girl, and then come get you." Rantaro makes another attempt at loosening Wakiya's hold, to no avail. In fact, Wakiya seems to tighten his grip further, and even pulls away. " _Wakiya_."

"I can get down myself!" Wakiya protests, puffing himself up. It's kind of funny, because his eyes are still wild with fear and his shoulders are still too stiff to be in any way relaxed. The move falls spectacularly short.

A frown works itself onto Rantaro's face. "That's not what you said a few minutes ago!"

"I panicked!"

"You're still panicking!"

Aaaand they're shouting again – great. Rantaro growls and gives an almighty tug on the balloon's string before Wakiya can argue back. The move jostles both of them, and Wakiya yelps as he lets go of their prize in favor of gripping the tree branches with two hands.

"Ya did that on purpose!" he accuses, and he's very obviously trying not to look down.

"Well, it worked," Rantaro responds, busy wrapping the string around his wrist for safer keeping. He slides his jacket off, too, and carefully encases the balloon in it to hopefully keep it from popping on the trip down – he already feels bad enough that it was their fault it got stuck up here in the first place.

He can almost feel Wakiya glaring at him, though, and when he looks up from his task, his eyes meet with vicious blue ones.

"I said I'll come back for you!" Rantaro says, shimmying into a better position and feeling for a foothold among too-thin branches. "Stop giving me dirty looks!"

"I don't need yer help!" Wakiya insists yet again.

Rantaro looks down at his feet, and tucks the wrapped up balloon under his arm as he begins his descent in earnest. "I'll meet you down there, then," he says offhandedly, because he knows Wakiya will most certainly not be following him.

Sure enough, Wakiya appears to have frozen in place with those words, and Rantaro can't help but grin just a little to himself as he gets down below into the tree proper. He would feel bad about this situation, but Wakiya definitely climbed the tree of his own volition, so there's no real need for guilt. Still, he makes sure to wipe the smile off of his face, because Wakiya's fear shouldn't be a laughing matter….

His jacket seems to be doing the trick protecting the balloon from stray twigs and branches, and the tree is only a little more difficult to get down than it was to get up. All the training has been good for something after all, it seems. Only having one arm makes it awkward, though, and he slips a few times.

By the time he makes it to the bottom, he's sure he has at least one bruise on his knee and maybe two scrapes on his elbow. He has to jump the last bit, too, and he stumbles a little on the landing before righting himself. Dusting off and pushing loose hairs back into place with his free hand, he meanders over to where the little girl and her mom are still waiting.

"Here you go!" With a flourish, Rantaro unveils the unharmed balloon, tossing his jacket over one shoulder for the moment.

"Thank you!" the girl says again, reaching for it.

Rantaro crouches down to be at eye level with her as he unwraps the string from his wrist. He motions for the girl to hold out her own, and when she does, he ties the balloon loosely but securely in place. "So it won't get knocked out of your hand so easily again," he explains.

The little girl giggles and smiles, and this time her mom thanks him. He grins back, shoots them a thumbs up as he stands, and says it's the least he could do.

"Hey! Are ya comin' ta get me or what?!"

Rantaro sighs.

Just one last thing to deal with.

"Does your friend need help?" the mother asks, sounding a little concerned.

"Thanks, but I've got him." Rantaro tugs his jacket back into its proper place over both of his shoulders and then squares them as he puts his hands on his hips. From down here, Wakiya looks like a very irate speck.

"Stop dawdlin'!" Wakiya shouts, apparently getting impatient.

Rantaro's eyes want to roll, but he stops them just in time. Instead, he marches up to the base of the tree and latches back on. Behind him, he vaguely hears the little girl drag her reluctant mother off in pursuit of home as he starts to climb.

"I thought you were gonna come down by yourself," Rantaro points out as he hauls himself upwards for the second time that day.

"I would'a, but I wanted ya t'feel useful!" The voice sounds annoyed, but there's a definite trembling undertone that doesn't go unnoticed.

"Sure, sure." Rantaro is anything but convinced, and he wonders if Wakiya knows just how blatant that lie comes across.

"Quit complainin' and get up here already!" Wakiya gripes.

He's close enough that he can see Wakiya's ankles, but he resists the urge to pull on them as he passes. "Yeesh, you're so impatient," he says as he pokes his head out of the canopy at last. He wriggles up until the rest of him is free and perched roundabouts where he was earlier.

Wakiya still has a white knuckled grip on the same exact branches, and he wisely hasn't moved since Rantaro left. He looks like a baby bird too scared to try flying for the first time, stuck in its nest and hoping just maybe it can stay there forever.

"What are ya waitin' for?" comes the demand from the only one of them truly _stuck_ in the tree.

Rantaro frowns. "I'm _thinking_ ," he says, "that I can't exactly carry you down…you're going to have to climb on your own."

"I can't!"

"You can! You crossed the bridge, didn't you?"

The initial look on his face says he wants to protest, but then Wakiya's mouth clamps shut and his brows furrow in what just might be determination. He's quiet when he gives a firm nod, and Rantaro decides to take that as a sign to get the show on the road.

"I'll go first," Rantaro lays out his plan carefully, making sure he holds Wakiya's gaze the whole time, "and you follow me – if you use the same path as me, then you know you won't fall."

Wakiya nods again, although the branches are starting to creak under the pressure his hands are steadily applying.

"And if I fall, you'll know not to go that way."

All of the color leaves Wakiya's face and Rantaro feels his own face fall along with it.

"Sorry, sorry!" He raises his hands and they hover awkwardly in front of his crestfallen companion. "That was a bad joke. Uh. Let's get going?"

Unsurprisingly, Wakiya doesn't move a muscle.

So, Rantaro gets to work on prying his hands off of the branches, much in the same way he did with the balloon string earlier.

"I can do that much," Wakiya says in a mumbling scoff, and he lets go with just one hand to swat at both of Rantaro's. The other joins it, slowly and shakily.

"Alright, let's go," Rantaro says, and shifts around until he can get at the same footholds he used in his descent earlier. "First step's the hardest," he prompts when Wakiya freezes up yet again.

Wakiya makes a small noise, like a startled animal, and then _finally_ starts to move. His hands are still kind of shaking and his foot gives at least three false starts before finally settling on the branch that Rantaro indicates – but he moves.

For his part, Rantaro stays closer than he intended, afraid that if he gets too far ahead, Wakiya really will fall and he'll catch all the blame.

It's even slower going than when he went down with just one arm the first time, but he isn't about to complain, because he knows that'll be detrimental. At the same time, he's afraid to give too much encouragement for fear of making Wakiya feel patronized. So Rantaro mostly stays quiet, only speaking up to offer direction.

"We're halfway down," he supplies, because he's made sure Wakiya isn't paying attention to that.

Wakiya audibly gulps. "Only?" His voice sounds a little small, surrounded by all the foliage and bogged down by nerves, but it's a relief to hear it anyway, because a too-quiet Wakiya is unnerving to Rantaro.

"…It's a tall tree."

There's a snort from above him and Wakiya sounds more like himself again when he says, "An' yer a slow climber."

"Well I'm not gonna leave you too far behind!" Rantaro shouts at him on reflex, mostly, and takes a few bigger steps down through the branches.

"Hey! What're y –" Wakiya breaks off when he looks down to yell at Rantaro properly and catches sight of the still-too-far-away-ground, "ah, crap!"

From where Rantaro's watching, he can still plainly see Wakiya twist his head away and wrap his arms as far around the tree trunk as they can go. He sighs. Then, he climbs back up until he's next to the other boy again.

"Come on, Wakiya. We're almost there! You don't wanna be stuck up here forever, do you?"

"'Course not!"

"Then come on!"

Tugging on Wakiya's arm (again) is probably not a good idea, all things considered, but Rantaro does it anyway as a means to an end. Wakiya, of course, does not appreciate this and shouts at him – no words, just one loud, short shout – and yanks it out of his reach and also off of the tree.

"Great start," Rantaro says, and it's not entirely insincere, "now _come on_!" With that, he starts climbing again.

" _Idiot_ ," Wakiya spits, venom in his voice. But he follows. "Stupid, dumb, ridiculous, foolish –"

And so it goes, Rantaro climbing with a smirk and Wakiya imitating his footholds and grips almost automatically as he trails after him mumbling insults all the while. It's a pretty smooth routine that works better than any other kind of coaxing…up until they reach the end of their trip, where jumping is required.

"I gotta _what_?"

"Jump. You know, let go of the tree, and just drop down," Rantaro explains, trying to be sensitive and polite about it.

Wakiya remains stubbornly silent.

"You've come this far!" Rantaro reminds him, going for the encouragement angle again. "Remember the bridge?"

"Stop bringin' that up!"

A growl crawls up Rantaro's throat again before he can put a lid on it. "Why are you so difficult when I'm just trying to help?"

"Yer terrible at helpin'! S'not my fault!" Wakiya complains, because of course he does. To Rantaro's amazement, he willingly lets go of the tree with one hand to lean away and point. His finger comes right between Rantaro's eyes, and they cross a little. "This's all yer fault, anyway!"

It's Rantaro's turn to let go of the tree, and he pushes Wakiya's invasive hand out of his face. "You climbed up here yourself! I didn't – "

There's no warning that anything is amiss until Wakiya gasps, then flails, and then they're both suddenly and forcefully reacquainted with the ground. They lay in a heap like that for a while, groaning in pain before Rantaro shoves Wakiya off and away from him.

For a long moment, the two of them just sit and stare at each other. Rantaro isn't quite glaring, though, and neither is Wakiya. Mostly, if he had to guess, he'd say Wakiya just looks happy that they aren't dead.

Somehow that thought is enough to put a smile on Rantaro's face, and he laughs as he tries to rub it away. He realizes that he lost his lollipop at some point, and digs in his pocket for another.

"What's so funny?"

And Wakiya really does seem offended, so Rantaro claps him roughly on the shoulder. "Good job, Wakiya. You got both of us down in the end."

He can't seem to stop laughing, and it's a relief when Wakiya joins him.

* * *

This isn't even the first one of these I've started with Wakiya as the other character, but it's the first one I've finished. Somehow they all turn out way too long when he's involved, whoops,

I'm not sure if I'm happy with this one, but I've got a bad headache and I'm tired of tweaking, so.

Thanks for reading!


	4. Origami

One day my coworker made an origami frog at work, then as I was searching around to figure out how to make one myself, I discovered that candy wrapper origami is an actual thing, and, well...

This one contains the most blatant use of headcanon yet, I'm sorry. It still fits into the narrative tho. At least. That's what I tell myself.

Enjoy!

* * *

 **Origami**

Rantaro is up on the roof, waiting for the rest of the BeyClub to show up, when Kensuke joins him.

"Good morning, Boss!" Beus greets him first, followed by Ker's "Morning!" as Kensuke settles in on the bench next to him.

"Hi!" Rantaro glances at the other boy briefly before going back to his comic. He's gotten in the habit of getting to school before all the others, somehow, and ordinarily spends the time reading in the rare peace and quiet.

"Do you wanna have a battle?" Ker asks.

"To practice before the others get here!" Beus elaborates. "Besides, we haven't battled Boss in a while, now."

"Sure!" Rantaro agrees, because how could he refuse? Kensuke is nice, and it's not everyday someone wants to battle him specifically. "Just let me finish this chapter, first."

"Okay!" Ker and Beus seem to speak at the exact same time, and Rantaro will never figure out how Kensuke manages that.

He doesn't notice anything amiss until he goes to reach for the lollipop wrapper he uses as a bookmark and finds it gone. He'd left it on the bench next to him, within reach, but now it very much isn't there. Sometimes the wind blows them away, so he spares a cursory glance around the rooftop – but then….

Then something in the corner of his eye grabs his attention, and he turns back to Kensuke.

On top of the short stack of manga Rantaro has piled next to him now sits a tiny, bright red origami frog. As Rantaro watches, Beus pushes on its back and releases it, and it springs from the top of the comic tower and onto the rooftop. Kensuke follows its path with a small smile.

"Did you make that?" Rantaro asks, sticking his pointer finger in as a place marker in lieu of his usual, which has, apparently, been transformed.

"Oh," is all Beus says, and the puppet seems to stand up straighter, along with its companion. Behind them, Kensuke looks a little embarrassed at being caught.

"Yes!" Ker confirms.

"Sorry if you were using it!" Beus apologizes.

"But it was just lying there…." Ker defends.

Rantaro, meanwhile, is unconcerned about the loss of the wrapper, and his attention is instead focused on something a little more important. "Can you show me how?"

"Eh?!" Beus seems a little shocked, "show you?!"

Kensuke is sporting a small blush by now, but he certainly doesn't seem opposed to the idea by a longshot.

"Sure!"

"We'll need more paper, though," Ker grumbles.

Wordlessly, Rantaro stuffs his free hand into his pocket and pulls out an overflowing handful of lollipop wrappers. "Like this?"

A real, actual laugh pops out of Kensuke at that, and Rantaro feels something like accomplished about it. When Ker speaks next, Rantaro thinks that just maybe there's still a hint of that laughter in his voice.

"That'll do."

Kensuke leaves Ker and Beus propped up lovingly on the bench as he and Rantaro move to the floor. Kensuke's dexterous hands fold the small surface area of the wrapper with skill that speaks of lots of practice as Rantaro clumsily attempts to follow along.

Once in a while, Kensuke will reach over and carefully reposition Rantaro's hands, or redo a fold that he'd gotten crooked – he doesn't give any verbal instructions, but that's just fine. Before long, Rantaro has his own (slightly misshapen, but still functioning!) jumping frog in front of him. When it works like it's supposed to and hops forward little by little, he grins to himself.

"Can we make more?"

Kensuke nods, and that's when they really get into it.

Ker and Beus come back, then, and it turns out they're just as good at making the little frogs as Kensuke is when he does it by himself. They're especially helpful with creasing the folds, and like to help Rantaro press his down. (When they aren't busy, their favorite thing to do is bounce the already made frogs around.)

Eventually, Rantaro and Kensuke find themselves surrounded by an army of tiny, red frogs, and there isn't a single wrapper left unfolded.

This, of course, is about the time Rantaro realizes that he never did replace his bookmark. He kind of can't, now, because he's out of extra wrappers.

"Ah, dang it…" he digs around in his pockets, hoping that he missed one and that he at least remembers where he was in his manga. He's not about to dogear a perfectly good page, after all!

Kensuke, Ker, and Beus look up from where the latter two have been making a few of the origami play leap frog.

"What is it?" Ker asks, which is quickly followed up by, "What's wrong?" from Beus.

"I'm out of bookmarks, now," Rantaro explains, looking ruefully at the excessive array of jumping frogs around them. "Oh well…"

"If you have another wrapper," Beus says, and Kensuke looks serious, "we can make you a new one."

Rantaro is about to say that he doesn't have any left, but instead he simply shrugs and pulls out a new lollipop, because he's got enough of those, after all. He unwraps it and offers it to Kensuke, and Ker takes the lollipop and deposits it into Kensuke's mouth while Beus takes the wrapper and holds it for Kensuke to scrutinize.

"Got it!" Ker announces.

"We know just what to do!" Beus agrees.

Their voices sound a little off, which may be the fault of the lollipop, but Rantaro pays it no mind. As he watches, Kensuke sets Ker and Beus aside again as he folds and folds away at the little paper, until eventually he's holding out a small, flat star.

Rantaro grins. "It's perfect!" He handles the star reverently, and shuts it in his comic carefully.

He says "Thanks!" at the same time as Kensuke does, and they both look at each other and laugh.

x

"Can you make anything else out of lollipop wrappers?" Rantaro wonders later that day. It's just him and Kensuke again, waiting for the rest of their friends to join them for lunch.

Kensuke nods, and Beus gently lifts Ker off of his perch and holds onto him. A long sleeve is shimmied down, showing off Kensuke's wrist, and there's a pink and green bracelet there, made of various candy wrappers and fastened with pink ribbon.

"That's so cool!" Rantaro runs his fingers over it a little before pulling back. "Can you show me how to do that, too?"

Beus places Ker back onto the hand he belongs on and then says, "Sure, but it might take longer than the frogs."

"And we'll need even more wrappers," Ker adds.

Rolling his lollipop from one cheek to the other with his tongue, Rantaro grins. "Not a problem," he says, plunging his hand into his pocket and retrieving the new stack of lollipop wrappers he's built up over the first half of the day.

"Isn't eating that much candy bad for your teeth?" Ker asks, one tiny puppet arm pointing at Rantaro while the other is folded onto where his hip would be. Even though the tone is reprimanding, Kensuke looks amused and pleased.

The folds for the bracelet turn out to be fairly simple, if repetitive and time consuming. With Kensuke helping, and working after school (again waiting for the others to show up to the BeyClub) they manage to finish it that day.

Kensuke explains that you can fasten it without a ribbon, but Rantaro asks him for a yellow one anyway.

x

The idea is one he gets with no warning when he's lying in bed one night. Looking around his room, even in the dim light, he can see the hundreds of tiny hopping frogs and clusters of different origami stars – everything that Kensuke's taught him to make – and he thinks he ought to do something to thank him.

Whenever the two of them are the first ones to arrive at the BeyClub, they will battle and then fold, or fold and then battle. It's nice, and Rantaro appreciates the extra decoration his room ends up with as well as the multicolored wrappers that Kensuke supplies.

He also appreciates Kensuke's company, and the fact that Kensuke's thanked him for all the experience at battling a stamina type.

And so it's only fair that he do something for the guy. They're friends, after all! And Kensuke is always really nice!

The next day, after school, Rantaro buys the biggest and brightest bag of lollipops he can find and takes it straight home. They haven't made any bracelets since that first day, but the technique was easy enough, and he remembers it after only a couple tries. (He practices on his usual red wrappers, wanting to save the colors from the new bag for the gift.)

Over the next week, nobody comments on the sudden variety to his lollipop flavors. He gives the blue raspberry ones to Valt – because he's never liked that flavor himself – and pockets the wrappers that get handed off to him.

When he has time, between homework and the BeyClub, Rantaro works on the bracelet. He's more than halfway done when he realizes that he doesn't have any idea where he's going to get the ribbon he wants to use from. He doesn't want to ask Kensuke for some, afraid that it'll give his whole plan away – so he does the only thing he can think of and goes to see Valt's mom.

Mrs. Aoi doesn't even ask him what he wants it for, and gladly supplies him with some thin ribbons that had originally been meant for Nika's hair. There are more colors than he probably needs, but Rantaro is happy to have extras. He thanks her and is on his way out the door when he remembers one other detail.

"Um – Mrs. Aoi?" he asks, turning back around, still holding the ribbons in one fist, "Can you teach me how to braid?"

x

His project stalls when they spend a couple days going to the Xhakuenji house, and that, of course, is when Kensuke tells them he has to move away.

Rantaro is just plain sad about that, and it hardly feels fair, and the rest of the day just doesn't seem as bright. On the way home, he realizes with a jolt that it means he needs to finish the bracelet post haste, and suddenly he's running.

That night finds him in bed, hiding under the covers and working when he should be sleeping. The flashlight that he usually uses for reading comics after hours is propped between his cheek and shoulder as he puts the finishing touches on the present.

The last thing he does is braid the ribbon together: green for Kensuke, blue for Ker, and soft brown for Beus.

Rantaro runs his fingers over the finished product. It looks good, he thinks, especially considering it's the first one he's made all by himself. He'd used every color of wrapper he had, and the result is bright and fun like Kensuke.

He remembers the first time he saw Kensuke wearing a bracelet like this, that day with the frogs. Tomorrow, he's going to give him this new one before he leaves town.

The flashlight falls as Rantaro buries his face in his pillow, and he only cries a little bit so he won't have to tomorrow.

x

At the start of their little farewell party, Rantaro pulls Kensuke aside. He's thought a lot about what to say, because he wants Kensuke to know that he appreciates him and he's glad they met and all the rest of it. But in the end, words fail him and he holds the bracelet out on his open palm in a silent offering.

Kensuke's eyes light up and shine when he sees, and as he looks at the gift his mouth quirks into a smile.

It's contagious, and Rantaro smiles, too.

Hastily and wordlessly, Beus pulls Ker off of Kensuke's hand, just as he'd done that first day. A long sleeve is once again shimmied out of the way, this time with a sense of urgency, and Kensuke offers his wrist to Rantaro.

Rantaro ties the bracelet on, right below the original green and pink one. He worries (belatedly) that the colors might clash.

Kensuke, however, is looking at it with mounting excitement. "Thanks, Boss!" he says, and the words come out of his own mouth as his eyes flick to Rantaro's face before going back to admiring his gift, "it's perfect!"

Beus deposits Ker back on his perch, but Kensuke's sleeve remains pushed back.

"I like the colors of the ribbon," Beus says, pointing at it.

"Needs more blue!" Ker complains half-heartedly, arms folded. "But altogether it's nice!"

Happy that the gift was so well received, Rantaro releases his nervous energy on a laugh. He puts a hand on Kensuke's shoulder. "I'm gonna miss you," he says, surprised at how easy it comes out.

"Don't worry," Beus assures, "we'll always be around!"

* * *

Longer than usual and extra sappy, bc whenever I think about Kensuke I just cry bc he's such a great kid? My heart...

Thanks for reading!


	5. New Heights

*slams fists on table* HEIGHT DIFFERENCES

Takes place from ? to sometime during the solo nationals.

* * *

A little while after they become friends, Rantaro learns something very interesting about Daina. Looking back, he realizes that it's probably something he should have assumed – but Daina is just so quiet, and has a tendency to be reserved.

And so how was Rantaro to know he actually has a sense of humor?

It starts on a Monday. Rantaro isn't the first one to the BeyClub; Daina beat him to the roof this morning, and is currently _standing_ on their bench. It's a bizarre sight – at least until Rantaro realizes that Daina has to stand there in order to get a proper handle on their beydish so he can finagle it out.

Without thinking, Rantaro goes over to help. He's a lot taller than Daina, after all, and he doesn't have to stand on anything to reach high enough to lug the beystadium out from behind the bench. Between the two of them, they get it out in no time at all.

"Thanks," Daina says as he hops off of his perch. His expression doesn't change, eyes watching all the while with his hands fisted in his jacket pockets.

"No problem." Rantaro rolls the stadium until it's far enough away from the bench to set up. Conversation with Daina still seems like a difficult thing to him, so instead he offers another way to pass the time: "Wanna battle?"

"Sure."

Deathscyther ends up bursting Ragnaruk, and Daina's mouth upturns the tiniest bit at the corners.

x

The next day, the two of them are assigned to dragging class supplies out of the gym closet.

Rantaro busies himself with the tangle of nets and poles tucked away in the back corner. "Tch, I can't believe no one ever puts these back right," he mutters, poking sadly at the mess. "I might need your help with –"

When he turns around to talk to Daina properly, he sees that volleyballs, apparently, are in high demand lately. The crate is nearly empty, and Daina's toes are scraping the floor as his top half disappears into the oversized basket. His fingertips are still barely brushing the meager supply of balls at the bottom, but he already has two on the ground next to him.

Rantaro knows he shouldn't laugh.

He really shouldn't.

It wouldn't be polite!

It's not Daina's fault that he can't reach.

So he really should stop smirking.

…Probably sometime soon.

Giving up and settling for disguising his snicker as a cough, Rantaro approaches the container of volleyballs with his hands tucked into the waistband of his gym shorts.

If he knew Daina better – if this were Valt struggling here instead, for instance – Rantaro would just grab him and pull him out of the bin to get him out of the way. Somehow, though, he doesn't really think Daina would appreciate that, so instead he goes around to the other side.

Reaching in, Rantaro snatches a third and fourth volleyball before straightening back up.

Daina's face is a bit red from exertion, and the expression on it is unreadable as he slowly flattens his feet to lower himself back to the floor. He stands with his palms resting on the lip of the basket until Rantaro hands over the balls.

"Thanks."

Rantaro claps Daina on the shoulder. "Anytime!"

He feels eyes glued to his back, following him as he returns to his corner to fish out the poles.

x

Rantaro's favorite part of cleaning up the classroom is being able to put everything away afterwards. (This supply closet isn't nearly as cluttered as the gym one, and also, putting everything away means he's definitely done cleaning, which is always a great feeling.)

He runs into Daina at said closet, and the shorter 'blader has a bottle of cleaner clenched in his fist as he almost-probably glares up at the highest shelf where it belongs.

While Rantaro busies himself putting his stuff away, Daina seems to be figuring out what to do about his predicament. By the time he's done, Daina is still just standing there with a frown on his face.

Cracking a grin, Rantaro adjusts his lollipop stick between his teeth. "Here," he says, holding out a hand.

Daina seems hesitant to hand the bottle over, but he does so nonetheless, apparently realizing he doesn't have much choice.

The shelf really is pretty high, and even Rantaro has to stretch a bit to reach it. It's not a problem, though – not until something jabs him between the ribs, that is.

Reflexively, he yelps and drops the cleaner, and only when Daina catches it in a smooth and easy motion does he realize what just happened.

Daina poked him.

Daina poked him just to make him relinquish his hold on the bottle.

Rantaro blinks down at Daina in mild shock. The other boy has a tiny grin on his face, hand fisted triumphantly around the neck of the spray bottle.

Still grinning, Daina steps forward and puts one foot on the lowest shelf, hauls himself up, and places the cleaner in its appropriate spot before hopping back down. When he looks up at Rantaro, his expression isn't quite as hard to read as usual.

There's very clear amusement in his eyes.

Rantaro smiles. "Well played."

Daina shrugs and walks off, hands in his pockets and smirk in place.

x

It turns into a kind of running joke between them – because for Rantaro it's a reflex to help people shorter than him, but Daina is used to working that kind of thing out on his own. And lately, since it's just the two of them who aren't participating in the Nationals, they suddenly have a lot of free time together.

Rantaro gets in trouble twice for running in the halls in his haste to put something away for Daina – and he figures that's a pretty good record, since he knows he's done that at least ten times so far. Half of the time, Daina already has whatever it is put away before Rantaro gets there, and the other half of the time they play tug-of-war until one of them is inevitably victorious.

…There was one memorable occasion when Rantaro had grabbed Daina mid-climb and put him back on the ground, which didn't go so according to plan, what with Daina's squirming.

He's also started to really enjoy asking Daina for a high five and holding his hand up as high as it will go. Daina's answer to that is usually to jump and make the high five anyway, which is something Rantaro is always impressed by.

Until now, though, Daina's retaliation has been tame.

Rantaro has to admit he's going to have a hard time topping this.

"Daina," he complains, mostly for show, "this isn't fair!"

From his perch atop the shelter over their bench, Daina just kicks his feet and grins. Tucked away in his pocket and out of sight is Ragnaruk, and Rantaro is still trying to work out how he got ahold of it unnoticed.

"How did you get up there, anyway?"

Daina shrugs. His heels tap the side of the enclosure a couple more times before he stills them. "I climbed."

" _How_?" Rantaro presses.

In response, Daina shrugs again. Unless it's a trick of the light, Rantaro could swear his smile broadens, too. Indeed, he looks awfully proud of himself for this stunt.

Rantaro decides to try a slightly different approach. "Don't you want to practice?"

"We have plenty of time still." Pulling Ragnaruk from his pocket, Daina brandishes it like a trophy. "Besides, you'll need this if you want to practice."

"You've been hanging around Wakiya too much!"

Daina lets out a quiet laugh at that, and then he stuffs Ragnaruk back in his pocket again. There's definitely a challenge in his eyes, and Rantaro decides he's going to take that to heart.

Lurching forward, he pours all of his strength into a jump – which, in hindsight, is probably a bad idea. This particular wall isn't as flimsy as it looks, and is definitely sturdy enough to still hurt when you throw yourself at it. One of his palms slaps Daina's knee, though, and the other grabs uselessly at the roof for a moment before sliding off.

Looking thoroughly amused now, Daina scoots backwards and pulls his feet up onto the roof next to himself.

Glaring up at him with a look that's half mild irritation and half amazement, Rantaro huffs. "I'm impressed, but… _how_?"

Once again, all Daina does is shrug. He's still grinning triumphantly, too, and Rantaro can't really bring himself to get properly annoyed. It's…funny, actually. Maybe this is what Daina feels like every time he pulls that high five trick on him.

But Rantaro isn't about to let himself be outdone!

So, of course, he takes another running jump, and this time he manages to hang onto the roof. All that working out pays off, because he hauls himself up with much less trouble than he would've thought, and actually manages to pull himself forward until he's half on and half off the roof.

Daina seems surprised when Rantaro makes a grab for him, but pushes himself back and out of the way in time.

"Give! Me! Ragnaruk!"

"…I don't think so."

Rantaro heaves himself the rest of the way up on top of the shelter, crawls in pursuit of Daina all the way to the other side…where he proceeds to misjudge the distance and topple over the edge.

Opening his eyes and shaking his head to dispel the beys circling his brain, the first thing he sees is Daina, still up on the rickety roof of the shelter, leaning over the edge and staring down at him.

"Are you okay?"

Rantaro considers. It wasn't that bad of a fall, really, and at the worst he has a lot of new bruises. It's nothing he hasn't done before, really. "…I'd be better if I had Ragnaruk."

Daina disappears from his view for a moment, and Rantaro sits up to try and catch sight of him again. As he watches, Daina stretches from the back of the little rooftop to the fence surrounding the roof proper, grabs hold, and starts climbing down.

"So _that's_ how you did it!"

x

The mood of their little group is a bit morose today – going from five team members down to three will do that to you. It wouldn't be so bad, except that Valt looks decently down in the dumps, which is always an unsettling sight to Rantaro.

The whole thing is just Not Right enough to make him want to fix it, but he isn't sure how to best brighten the mood. (Short of tracking at least Wakiya down and physically dragging him back, that is.)

And then Daina nudges him, elbowing him in the side. "Hey, Boss," he says, tilting his head back to look up at Rantaro properly. "What's the weather like up there?"

Rantaro raises his eyebrows at Daina – he's only confused for a few seconds before he works out what he's trying to do. A grin spreads across his face as he realizes there's an excellent opportunity here that the other boy probably hasn't considered. "Pretty great," he answers, "why don't you come see for yourself?"

Before Daina can run or resist, Rantaro wraps his arms around his waist and hoists him into the air.

Daina protests and shoves at the arms holding him, of course, but Valt is laughing and soon Rantaro is, too – and he doesn't think Daina really minds all _that_ much.

x

"I was thinking, I could probably carry you on my shoulders – I've done it with Valt, after all."

"No."

"A piggyback ride then?"

"…No."

"Give you a leg up so you can scare Wakiya from above the roof entrance?"

"No. And be nice."

"You're no fun!"

* * *

...Daina strikes me as mischievous if you catch him on a good day? I have no real excuse. Who knows how plausible this is but it seemed like a good idea at the time? Sorry.

This one took way too long, I edited it for three months and I'm still not happy with it at all but...I gotta move on I guess, so please accept it as well as my apologies ahahaha

Anyway, Boss has picked up every small character except for Daina so far and, well, I couldn't, just leave well enough alone, (I mean, he hasn't picked up Lui either, but I really don't think that would end well for anyone so Daina it is)  
(Also now that Kit is a thing, I hope he gets picked up, too, at some point.)

...These oneshots are all just "Rantaro has positive interactions with his peers" if you hadn't noticed. I'm. So sorry.

Thanks for reading!

P.S. I'm also sorry for making you fall so often Kumicho...


	6. Dinner

I'm back - and so is the normal, shorter chapter length.

Anyway, this takes place all the way back in episode 5 of the first season, right after the scene where Rantaro carries Toko and Nika home! (a scene that warms my heart to this day)

Enjoy!

* * *

 **Dinner**

Rantaro knows the way to Valt's house, because it's on the way to his own home, and it just makes sense to walk together after practicing most nights. Therefore, getting there on his own while carrying the twins is a simple feat, and the real problem doesn't surface until he finds himself standing outside the front door.

See, he's seen the _outside_ of Valt's house often enough, and he's _waved_ to Valt's mom in passing – but he's never actually gone _inside_ of Valt's house, or _spoken_ to Valt's mom.

Actually, that isn't even much of a problem, either – no, the real, actual, most pressing issue is the fact that he can't get to the doorbell with two armloads of kid. He's staring the button down and weighing the pros and cons of going for it with his elbow when Nika solves the problem for him.

She squirms awake and rubs at one eye with a fist, before apparently realizing where they are. "I'll get it," she murmurs, voice still a little heavy with sleep.

Rantaro obliges her by leaning forward some until the doorbell is within her reach. Once it's pressed, Nika settles back down and twists a hand into his shirt again.

It takes all of three seconds for Valt's mom to make it to the door, and she opens it with a smile. "Thanks for bringing them home," she says.

"No problem." Rantaro shrugs and accidentally dislodges Tokonatsu with the movement. He bounces to try and hike the boy back up into a more comfortable position, but this threatens to unsettle Nika, so he gives up and stands as still as he can so as not to drop anyone.

Fortunately, that's when Mrs. Aoi intervenes by lifting her younger son off of Rantaro's back and into her own arms. "Come on, let's get these two inside," she says, turning around to lead the way into the house.

Rantaro wraps his newly freed right arm around Nika for extra stability, and then follows. He drags the door shut behind him with his ankle before toeing off his shoes, and doesn't stop to think about using the familiar gestures in an unfamiliar house.

"We'll just put them in the living room," Valt's mother says as she heads out of the entryway and to the left, "they'll probably wake up for dinner."

"If they're anything like Valt, they definitely will." The comment falls out of his mouth before he can stop it – there's something about the atmosphere here that makes Rantaro feel at ease, and he only panics about being impolite for about two seconds before Mrs. Aoi laughs.

"Good point," she says.

The living room is bright and airy, even in the fading golden light of sunset, and there's a giant sectional couch in the middle of the floor on a spring green carpet. Mrs. Aoi deposits Tokonatsu on one half, and so Rantaro gently sets Nika down on the other.

"Well, that's them taken care of for now." Valt's mom puts her hands on her hips, and surveys her sleeping children. She's still smiling, and it's the easy, relaxed kind; it doesn't leave her face when she turns her attention to Rantaro. "Come on, you can wash up in the kitchen. Dinner's almost ready!"

"Huh?" Rantaro blinks, tucks his thumbs into his waistband and swirls his lollipop around as he averts his gaze. "I, um, probably shouldn't stay – "

"Nonsense!" Mrs. Aoi sticks a finger in the air, and the smug grin on her face makes the family resemblance between her and Valt uncanny. "My Valt probably had you training with him all this while – it's the only reason he ever comes back late. I also owe you for bringing Tokonatsu and Nika home. It would be rude to refuse."

Hands pressed to his abdomen now, Rantaro can see where Valt gets his overbearing personality. "Yes ma'am!" he choruses, and straightens his posture on reflex.

"Good." Both hands settle back on Mrs. Aoi's hips again. "It's settled. Come on!" There's an apron tied around her waist, and she wipes her hands on it as she walks.

Rantaro follows slowly, taking one last glance at Tokonatsu and Nika as he goes. The kitchen, he discovers, is just as sunny as the living room – it's warm, and smells like baking bread. There's a stool by the sink, and he doesn't need to use it to reach the faucet, but he smirks with the thought that Valt probably does.

Once his hands are washed, he stands by a little awkwardly as Mrs. Aoi puts the finishing touches on dinner.

"So, you're Boss, right?"

The use of his nickname catches him off-guard, a little, but it still makes him puff out his chest proudly at the acknowledgement. "Yes! Kiyama Rantaro, actually," he introduces, because he's certain that Valt never mentioned him by his actual name at home.

"It's nice to meet you," there's that easy smile again, the kind that leaves Rantaro wondering if this whole family is friendly and well-intentioned at all times. "Valt's told me a lot about you."

He scratches bashfully at the back of his neck. He can only imagine what Valt's had to say about him, and he's not really sure he wants to know. "Ah, well…sorry for leaving him behind at the park," he says, because yeah he did do that, didn't he?

"It's no problem," Mrs. Aoi is the picture of unconcerned as she fills a basket with bread loaves of all kinds, "he'll find his way home eventually. I saw Shu headed that way, he'll take good care of him."

Rantaro can't help but think that he ought to be able to look after Valt, too, by now. That's what friends are for, after all, and now that he finally has them he thinks he should maybe be doing more stuff like that.

Still – he did bring the twins home, and Valt was being unreasonable, anyway.

…It's his first time alone with the parent of one of his friends, he realizes. Looking at him, you might not think he's the sort to care about impressions – but he has enough trouble making friends as it is, and it's important that he doesn't mess this up so early!

But Valt's mom seems to like him. Which is definitely something, because usually adults look at him with a disappointed frown, if anything…it's his outfit, probably, but he likes it too much to change. (Or maybe he can get too loud _sometimes_. And he doesn't always pay proper attention in class. The lollipops probably don't help his case any either – adults hate candy, for some reason – )

"Anyway, you can have Valt's share of dinner, since he'll probably eat at Shu's."

Rantaro grins at that, because…maybe he doesn't have anything to worry about here after all. He can feel his concern melting away, leaving a warm sort of comfort in its place.

"Could you go see if you can wake Tokonatsu and Nika?" Mrs. Aoi asks as she unties her apron, "I'll have the table set for us by then."

Rantaro does as he's told, and then he sits in Valt's usual seat at the dinner table, but doesn't feel like he's intruding at all.

Over dinner, Nika babbles energetically about how ridiculous Valt is, and Tokonatsu chimes in with how even _Boss_ makes their brother look sensible – which Rantaro announces he'll take as a compliment, much to everyone's amusement.

Halfway through dessert, Mrs. Aoi says, "I'm glad Valt is making so many good friends!" and Rantaro feels a new, comfortable pride blossoming in his chest.

He thinks he's starting to understand what the term 'home away from home' means.

* * *

This is another one that I wrote a long time ago (it was one of the first ones, actually) but only just got around to editing and posting. My pacing is all wrong you guys.

Thanks for reading, and feel free to drop a review if you liked it! Or even if you didn't - I love to hear what you guys think. Thanks for all the kind comments so far, too!


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